Leicester City announce they will AVOID Premier League points deduction after club successfully appealed PSR decision
Leicester City have announced they have avoided a Premier League points deduction after the newly promoted club appealed against a Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) decision.
The team, who are fighting hard for survival this season, were facing sanctions after the league referred them to an independent commission in March over suspected violations.
Leicester subsequently challenged the committee’s jurisdiction to hear the case, as it related to a period when the club played in the Championship rather than the Premier League. However, the committee rejected their request earlier this year.
The King Power Stadium club subsequently took the matter to an independent appeals panel, which overturned the panel’s decision and ruled that the club had not breached the PSRs for the assessment period ending 30 June 2023.
Leicester released a statement tonight saying the appeals panel had also found “errors in the drafting of the Premier League rules”.
Last month it looked like the club would be deducting points this season for breaching spending rules ahead of their first season back in the Championship last year.
One of two investigations into their finances concerned Leicester’s compliance with PSRs, which are designed to ensure clubs do not spend more than they earn and protect them from financial crises while maintaining competitive balance in the league.
Clubs in the UK are allowed to report losses within a certain limit, exceeding which they risk sanctions such as fines or points deductions.
Leicester’s financial problems have been attributed to the club’s heavy spending in recent years, both in terms of transfer fees and player salaries.
It looked like they were facing the same fate as Everton, who had suffered two points deductions in three consecutive three-year periods for financial overspending.
Everton had their 10-point penalty reduced to six points on appeal for offences in the 2021-22 period.
However, they were later given an additional two-point penalty for the subsequent period in 2022-2023.
Leicester were sued by the Premier League in March and are under fire for breaching the £105m loss limit for the financial period ending in 2022-23.
The case against Leicester City was delayed after the club launched legal proceedings, arguing that the Premier League had no standing to sue the club while they were playing in the Championship.
The charges relate to Leicester’s financial losses of £215.3m between 2020 and 2023, exceeding the £105m limit.
The EFL had already launched an investigation into the club’s finances during the 2023-24 season and predicted further overspending.
Although an attempt to enforce a business plan drawn up by the EFL was rejected on appeal, Leicester were hit with a transfer ban last season.